this is exactly what an oppressive government wants.
as long as people are able to discuss politics with their friends, they have a outlet to vent without being able to actually form political resistance.
as long as people are able to discuss politics with their friends, they have a outlet to vent without being able to actually form political resistance.
Our idea of an oppressive autocratic government is more similar to that exemplified in Orwell's 1984- a government that prevents and punishes expression of dissenting ideas at any level, even the private one (you never know if the friend or person you're talking to could be a police informer).
Another interpretation could be that China cares about, or simply consideres legitimate, the expression of dissent, but is terrified by the consequences of mass protest movements such as that of Tiananmen Square, preferring to maintain a rigid control on the direction and pace of change.
> Another interpretation could be that China cares about, or simply consideres legitimate, the expression of dissent, but is terrified by the consequences of mass protest movements such as that of Tiananmen Square, preferring to maintain a rigid control on the direction and pace of change.
These statements are practically identical the only thing that changes is how charitably you're framing the suppression of political dissent and if you're viewing things from the POV of the political class or the regular people.